Salvator Mundi, the long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, has sold at Christie’s in New York for $450.3m, including auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction.
The sale generated a sustained 20 minutes of tense telephone bidding as the auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen juggled rival suitors before a packed crowd of excited onlookers in the salesroom. At one point, Pylkkänen remarked: “Historic moment, we’ll wait” as the the bidding went back and forth, pausing at just over $200m as it rose to break the auction record.
At one point, a telephone bidder jumped in, pushing the price from $332m to $350m. The bidding then resumed: $353m, $355m. A jump to $370. A jump to $400m.
Salvator Mundi, the long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ commissioned by King Louis XII of France more than 500 years ago, has sold at Christie’s in New York for $450.3m, including auction house premium, shattering the world record for any work of art sold at auction.
The sale generated a sustained 20 minutes of tense telephone bidding as the auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen juggled rival suitors before a packed crowd of excited onlookers in the salesroom. At one point, Pylkkänen remarked: “Historic moment, we’ll wait” as the the bidding went back and forth, pausing at just over $200m as it rose to break the auction record.
At one point, a telephone bidder jumped in, pushing the price from $332m to $350m. The bidding then resumed: $353m, $355m. A jump to $370. A jump to $400m.
“They reflected the importance of the painting and that some of the bidders were conscious that the price would go higher than their bids. Probably, they knew there was room before the end of the competition.”
“They wanted to get the job done quicker, but it still took a long time.”
The sale places Salvator Mundi as the highest-priced work sold privately or at auction, including Pablo Picasso’s 1955 Women of Algiers (Version O), sold for $179.4m, and Amedeo Modigliani’s 1917-18 Reclining Nude, sold for $170.4m. Record private sales are believed to include $250m for a painting by Paul Cézanne and $300m for a Paul Gauguin.
After the sale, Pylkkänen said the sale had been his “ultimate privilege.
“It’s the zenith of my career as an auctioneer. There’ll never be another painting that I shall sell for more than this painting tonight.”
Previewing the lot last month, Christie’s described the painting of Christ holding a crystal orb in his left hand and raising his right in benediction as “the biggest discovery of the 21st century”.
The painting was consigned to Christie’s by Dmitry Rybolovlev, 50, a Russian fertiliser oligarch who has been at the center of an art-world scandal involving claims that a Paris-based dealer, Yves Bouvier, cheated the collector out of as much as $1bn on sales of 38 artworks, including the Leonardo.
The sale of Salvator Mundi, which was painted around 1500 and presumed lost until early this century, was Rybolovlev’s largest to date. The collector acquired it from Bouvier for $127m, who had in turn acquired it from Sotheby’s in a private sale in 2013 for about $50m less.
Bouvier’s mark-up led to Rybolovlev’s criminal complaint in a Monégasque court, alleging a scheme for overcharging him. The case led to the resignation of Monaco’s then justice minister, Philippe Narmino. Rybolovlev’s spokesman, Brian Cattell, told the Wall Street Journal the family hoped the sale “will finally bring to an end a very painful chapter”.
“They reflected the importance of the painting and that some of the bidders were conscious that the price would go higher than their bids. Probably, they knew there was room before the end of the competition.”
“They wanted to get the job done quicker, but it still took a long time.”
The sale places Salvator Mundi as the highest-priced work sold privately or at auction, including Pablo Picasso’s 1955 Women of Algiers (Version O), sold for $179.4m, and Amedeo Modigliani’s 1917-18 Reclining Nude, sold for $170.4m. Record private sales are believed to include $250m for a painting by Paul Cézanne and $300m for a Paul Gauguin.
After the sale, Pylkkänen said the sale had been his “ultimate privilege.
“It’s the zenith of my career as an auctioneer. There’ll never be another painting that I shall sell for more than this painting tonight.”
Previewing the lot last month, Christie’s described the painting of Christ holding a crystal orb in his left hand and raising his right in benediction as “the biggest discovery of the 21st century”.
The painting was consigned to Christie’s by Dmitry Rybolovlev, 50, a Russian fertiliser oligarch who has been at the center of an art-world scandal involving claims that a Paris-based dealer, Yves Bouvier, cheated the collector out of as much as $1bn on sales of 38 artworks, including the Leonardo.
The sale of Salvator Mundi, which was painted around 1500 and presumed lost until early this century, was Rybolovlev’s largest to date. The collector acquired it from Bouvier for $127m, who had in turn acquired it from Sotheby’s in a private sale in 2013 for about $50m less.
Bouvier’s mark-up led to Rybolovlev’s criminal complaint in a Monégasque court, alleging a scheme for overcharging him. The case led to the resignation of Monaco’s then justice minister, Philippe Narmino. Rybolovlev’s spokesman, Brian Cattell, told the Wall Street Journal the family hoped the sale “will finally bring to an end a very painful chapter”.
